Just Friends
by Sabrina06
Summary: Isabella has always had a good friendship with the two brothers across the street. Now they're older and some parts of that friendship have changed.


**Ownership of Phineas and Ferb doesn't belong to me. Thank you Jeff, Dan & Disney.**

"Isabella, wait!" Phineas called after his girlfriend as he ran after her. Isabella ran down the beach, crying. "Leave me alone! I never want to see you again!"

Phineas stopped chasing her. He turned around and went back to the restaurant. "Are you ready to order sir?" The waiter asked out of habit as he noticed the young man arrive back at the table. Phineas shook his head. "Not tonight." He said as he pulled out his wallet and handed the waiter some cash.

Phineas went back to his car. He got in and turned the radio on and sat back to listen to the song. When the next song started he sat up and slammed his hand against the button, turning the radio off. "I'm never going to listen to that song again." He said aloud.

Isabella ran down the beach until she couldn't run any further. "He's such a jerk. Why would he bring me to a fancy restaurant to break up with me? He's a useless, clueless, selfish…" She trailed off then screamed, startling a flock of seagulls.

Phineas opened his glove box and looked through the selection of CDs he had, each one reminded him of Isabella. This one was playing when they had their first date. This one… he smiled at the memory. That was the night the car ran out of gas 40 miles into the country. He was about to call his brother when Isabella suggested they sit in a little 24hour diner. He had lost track of time and accidentally called Ferb at 3:30 in the morning. Just remembering the look on Ferb's face, when he showed up an hour and a half later, still sent shivers down his spine.

"Why didn't you let me finish? You never listen. You always jump to conclusions." Phineas said as he looked at the little black box in his hand. "I wanted to marry you, Isabella. You were the only person who understood me." He tossed the box into the backseat. "I hope you're happy, because I'm miserable."

Phineas pulled out of the parking lot and started driving. He couldn't return to the house he'd shared with her for the past two years. They had moved in to the three bedroom house two years after graduating high school. Although they were dating, they stayed in separate rooms. That's what she wanted, and he only wanted her to be happy.

Phineas drove for a few hours to try to sort his thoughts and calm his nerves. He then parked his car in his parents' driveway. He got out and carefully looked over his shoulder at the Garcia-Shapiro house; the kitchen light was on. He knocked on the front door of his childhood home and was greeted by his mother.

Isabella sat on a log on the beach and watched the sun set. She'd been crying for almost an hour and her head hurt. She held her hands out in front of herself and watched as they trembled. She pulled out her phone and called Adyson.

"Stupid Adyson, always concerned about herself." Isabella muttered as she tried calling Gretchen, Ginger then Katie; all of whom were either having car trouble, out of town or sick. She'd lost contact with most of her childhood friends during high school. "Now who do I turn to?" She asked her phone and looked at who remained in her contact list. "Buford's out of state and Baljeet's out of the country. That leaves… Ferb."

Isabella looked at the darkening horizon, the sun had set 45 minutes ago and there was now a chill in the air. "What's he going to say? Phineas must have called him by now, what's he going to do? Ferb would always help his friends, that's what he does." She muttered to herself, then placed the call.

Isabella put the phone to her ear and waited for Ferb to answer. She was shocked, her call went to voicemail. _He always answers my calls, what could he be doing?_ She thought. "Ferb, it's Isabella. I'm at…" she looked around, "...I'll meet you at The Houseboat Restaurant." She sighed and started to make her way back toward the restaurant.

Ferb ran his hands through his hair in frustration then abruptly stood up. He stretched his arms behind himself then walked into the kitchen. He pulled a tray out of the freezer and started heating up the oven. He peeked under the foil wrapping to see what his father had dropped off; lasagne. He smiled to himself as he shook his head. _Mum just can't get out of the habit of cooking for the entire family. I don't mind having a freezer full of home cooking._

Ferb put the tray in the oven and sighed. _Phineas is proposing to Isabella tonight. He's been looking forward to this day for months. He searched all of Danville for the perfect restaurant. The Houseboat is the best seafood restaurant in the Tri-State Area._ He thought to himself as he pulled out some bread, a garlic and some butter.

Ferb checked the time, _Another 20 minutes before everything's ready._ He went back to his study and looked over the blueprints again. He reached his hand into his pocket and paused. Ferb looked over his desk, moving pages of blueprints. He checked the drawers and looked beside and under the desk.

Ferb went into his bedroom to change into an old track suit. He unbuttoned his shirt and folded it on his bureau. That's where he found his phone. He rolled his eyes and looked at it. _Three missed calls. Probably nothing._ He thought then the phone vibrated in his hand. He looked at the call display. "Isabella".

Isabella was standing outside the restaurant waiting for either her phone to ring or for Ferb to just show up. "Where is he? I've left him three messages and he's not returned any of my calls. I could have walked half-way home by now." She muttered to herself. She scowled at her phone. _I'm going to call him one last time._

Isabella called Ferb, again, and again the phone rang. This time she heard his voice on the other end. "Ferb," she started sobbing. "I need you to pick me up. Don't ask me why, just come to The Houseboat Restaurant. I'm waiting for you in the parking lot." She disconnected the call, leaned up against the building and started sobbing.

Passers by looked at her with pity.

Ferb made sure to turn the oven off before grabbing his car keys. The Houseboat Restaurant was almost an hour's drive from Ferb's house. _What happened now? Obviously, things didn't go according to plan; Phineas would never leave her stranded._ He thought to himself. _Then I come along and pick up the pieces; as usual. It's no wonder I don't have a girlfriend. Every time something goes wrong in their lives; I'm the one they turn to._

Isabella decided she should walk around the parking lot. _If I keep busy, I won't notice the passage of time._ Every time a set of headlights rounded the corner, she looked over in anticipation. _I should have just called for a taxi to pick me up. But I really need a friend right now._

Ferb rounded the corner and pulled into the parking lot. He parked the car and got out. He looked around and saw her. She was leaning up against the building, shoulders slumped. He walked over.

Isabella saw a tall man approach her, at first she didn't recognise him. "Ferb?" She called, then took a few steps toward him and hugged him. "What on earth were you doing? What took you so long? You should have been here a long time ago." She hollered in frustration as she hit him in the chest with her fist.

Ferb grabbed her by the arm, turned her toward the car and moved her forward. He opened her door and slammed it a soon as she was seated. He slipped in behind the wheel and started driving.

Isabella looked toward her friend. "Ferb, are you angry with me?" She waited for a response. A minute passed without an answer. She reached out her hand to touch his; he moved his hand away and continued driving. "Talk to me." She demanded.

Ferb sighed. "Where am I dropping you off." It was just a statement, not even a question. Isabella started crying. "Your idiot brother…" She sobbed and Ferb nodded. "I guessed that much." Isabella couldn't help but choke out a slight laugh. _Of course he'd think that… what else would make me demand that he pick me up?_

Ferb glanced at his passenger. "Are you going home or to your parents' house?" Isabella caught her breath. "I… don't know. I don't want to see HIM." She replied and started crying again. With a slight shake of his head, Ferb continued driving.

Minutes passed before Isabella whispered something Ferb had to strain his ears to catch; he nodded. "I suppose you can sleep in the guest room tonight." He answered back as he drove.

Ferb arrived back at his house, parked his car and killed the engine. He started to get out of the car then realised that Isabella was looking out the passenger window. He got out and walked over to her side of the car, opened the door and offered her his hand.

"Thanks Ferb." She said as she took his hand. By the light in the garage, she finally got a good look at him. "Isn't that taking 'Casual Friday' a bit far?" Ferb raised his eyebrow at her and lead the way into the house. "I was going to have dinner before you rang." He mentioned. Isabella put her hands on her hips. "Which time? I left you three messages before you picked up." She shot.

Ferb looked hard at her before turning his back to her and started to reheat his supper. "I've got some of Mum's lasagne." He said as he started to pull some dishes out of the cupboard. "No!" Isabella blurted. "I'm not hungry." She claimed and her stomach started to growl, Ferb raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, fine! I don't want anything that reminds me of HIM!" She finished.

Ferb continued to look at her and smirked. Isabella glared at him. "What is it? Why are you looking at me that way?" Ferb shook his head. "Phin…" He started when Isabella yelled out, "Don't say that name!" Ferb put his hands up defensively. "Sorry, he's my brother."

Isabella blushed red. "Right. It's just I don't think of you guys that way." Ferb rolled his eyes. "Okay. So, if you don't want any of Mum's lasagne, what would you like for dinner?" She looked at him wondering if he was serious. "How about some Chinese take out?" She replied and pulled out her phone. "My treat… as a thank you for rescuing a damsel in distress. Do you still like Lemon Chicken?" Ferb nodded and laughed.

Twenty minutes later Isabella closed the front door to Ferb's house and brought in the two bags of delivery. Ferb helped her set everything out on the counter before putting a selection on his plate. Isabella loaded her plate with plenty of everything. Ferb looked at her plate, it must have contained four times the amount of food his did. She looked back accusingly. "I eat when I'm upset." She snapped.

The two friends sat across from each other at Ferb's small kitchen table. "...and that's when he said he didn't want me as his girlfriend any longer." Isabella said and started crying again. Ferb put his chopsticks down and rubbed his eyes. "Are you sure that's what he said?" Isabella nodded. "That's exactly what he said. I then got up and told him I don't want to see him again."

Ferb pressed his fingers into his eyes. "You don't mean that." Isabella poked him with one of her chopsticks. "Yes I do. I'm tired of being treated like 'one of the guys'. Phineas never does anything romantic. Do you know what he's got in the house? Gadgets, gadgets and more gadgets. For everything!" She looked around Ferb's kitchen. "You don't have a remote to open the fridge. You don't turn the oven on from your computer and your lights aren't operated via motion sensor! And that's just in the kitchen. You should see what he did to my bedroom!" She complained.

Ferb shrugged his shoulders. "You love him. You always have." Isabella took a few more bites of her food. "I don't know Ferb. I guess I still love your stupid brother, but he's the one who broke up with me." She said, then continued. "I need someone to…" She then looked directly at Ferb. "I need someone who'll listen. Will you listen to me?" Ferb nodded.

"You've always been there for me." She said with a smile and Ferb nodded back, slowly. Isabella stood up and piled more food onto her plate. "More?" She asked him and he shook his head. Isabella sat back down. "Every time he broke my heart, you were there to tell me that everything would be all right. And it always was." She said with a smile. "Well, there was that one time in 10th grade." She reminisced. "You fell ill just before Christmas. Phineas and I had gotten into a huge fight."

Ferb nodded and closed his eyes tight. "Don't remind me." He whispered as his head fell. Isabella tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong?" Ferb looked up and offered a fake smile to his friend. "Nothing. It's in the past."

Isabella looked worriedly to him. "When you returned to school, you changed your class schedule around. Then you joined the basketball, baseball and swim teams. You also busied yourself with clubs." Ferb nodded but didn't look at her. Isabella studied the man across from her a moment. "You kept yourself busy so you could avoid Gretchen." She said and he nodded. "At the time, Gretchen said you broke up with her." Again he nodded. "I had to." He whispered.

Isabella's eyes went wide. "You had to break up with her? Why?" Ferb looked up at her, sadness in his eyes. "You broke up with Phineas." He said as his voice wavered. Isabella started to feel uncomfortable. "What does that have to do with… you thought that you and I…" She said and Ferb shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Gretchen was his rebound. I wasn't going to continue dating her after her and Phineas…"

Isabella clapped her hand over her mouth. "They didn't." Ferb nodded. Isabella moved a piece of hair behind her ear. "How do you know?" Ferb rolled his eyes. "I was sick, not deaf. Phineas' room was across the hall from mine, I heard everything. They weren't exactly quiet. I take it he never told you." Isabella's jaw dropped. "I don't believe it. How could he? With her?"

Ferb, looking dejected, sighed and Isabella got off her chair and hugged him. "I'm so sorry Ferb. I had no idea. It's all my fault." Ferb hugged her back. "It's in the past. I've moved on." Isabella looked sadly to her friend. "Have you really?" Ferb nodded, then narrowed his eyes. "You're having problems with Phineas?"

Isabella nodded. "I thought I loved him. I thought he loved me." Ferb stood up and escorted her to the living room where they sat on the sofa. Ferb turned to look at her. "He does love you, very much." Isabella laughed at him. "What was he going to do propose?" Ferb averted his eyes.

Isabella placed her hand on his arm. "He was, wasn't he?" Ferb nodded and she flung her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. "Why is my life so difficult?" Ferb wrapped his arms around her and she looked into his eyes. "I try. Really. It's just so difficult to…" She tried between sobs. "...to… to… I love him so much. Ferb. I really love him." She buried her face into his shoulder again.

Ferb placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her to arms length. "There's no point in telling me; tell him." Isabella looked into her friend's eyes and shook her head. "What if he's with another rebound girl right now?" She said, tears trailing down her cheeks. Ferb grabbed a box of tissues from the corner table and handed them to her. "What if he's not?"

Isabella shook her head and hugged Ferb tight. He leaned into the couch and held her, letting her cry on his shoulder. Her crying turned to sobbing, then to the odd sniffle. Ferb just held her, letting her know that she was safe and that he'd always be her friend.

Eventually Isabella's sniffles stopped and Ferb heard her breathing lightly. He gently picked her up and carried her to his guest room. He laid her down on the bed and placed a blanket over her.

He put the food in the fridge before retiring to his own room.

Ferb awoke to the racket of someone banging on his front door and ringing his doorbell. He stumbled out of bed and down the hallway. He opened the door and saw Phineas standing there. Phineas looked as though he had not slept, his clothes were rumpled and his hair looked like it hadn't been touched by a comb in days.

"Ferb." Phineas choked out as he stumbled across the threshold and into the living room. "I've lost her. She's gone. I think it's really over this time." He said as he became unhinged and collapsed onto the couch. Ferb sat beside him.

Phineas looked up at his brother. "It hurts. I can't go on. You haven't heard from her have you?" Ferb nodded. Phineas' eyes gained a slight sparkle. "You have? Is she okay? Where is she? Do you know where she is?" Ferb rested a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder. "Isabella's safe."

Isabella opened the door to Ferb's guest room and walked down the hallway. She heard Phineas' voice. _He sounds distraught_. She thought to herself as she continued on her path. She looked over to the couch and saw the two brothers sitting. "Phineas?" She called out and stood still.

Phineas looked up when his name was called. "Isabella? Is that you?" He said, stood up and started making his way across the living room. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything, please forgive me." He rambled.

Ferb got up and went into the kitchen. He could still hear them talking and apologising to each other. When things fell silent he knew what they were doing.

He busied himself preparing breakfast.


End file.
